A fluffy fellow in my lap
Continually purrs --
You may have heard him -- did you not
His purring joyful is --

He cares not if I'm rich or poor --
Or if I'm fat or slim --
Or if I’m tidy or unkempt --
Why can’t you be like him?

— Felicia Nimue Ackerman

This poem first appeared in The Emily Dickinson International Society Bulletin and is reprinted with permission.